


Green Eyes of the Enchanted Forest

by orphan_account



Series: Lukadrien June 2020 [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste is a Lightweight for Affection, Adrien Hatches Ridiculous Schemes, Aged-Up (18 and 20), Cat Sidhe Adrien, Cat!Adrien, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fairy AU, Falcon!Marinette, Fey AU, Fey!Adrien, Fey!Marinette, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Happy Ending, I Mean It's Totally Normal to Impersonate a Cat so That You Can Get Closer to Your Crush, Luka Noir, Lukadrien June 2020, Lukadrien June 2020 Day Twelve: Enchanted, M/M, Mutual Pining, One-sided Adrienette, Orchestrating an Injury so Your Crush Takes You In and Bandages the Cut, Pining, Romance, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, adrienette friendship, lukadrien
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:41:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: As a general rule, human beings and fey don't mix, so when Adrien falls for Luka, a mortal, they concoct an elaborate scheme to get closer to the boy they love. Using their cat form to worm their way into Luka's life and Luka's home, Adrien gets to know Luka better and only falls deeper. They think Luka might even feel the same. They're not sure, but Luka makes them feel like, together, they can overcome all the obstacles that stand between them.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Luka Couffaine
Series: Lukadrien June 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781776
Comments: 8
Kudos: 66





	Green Eyes of the Enchanted Forest

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PrincessBuggyCat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrincessBuggyCat/gifts).



> Hello there! Welcome to the story. Thank you all for checking this out.
> 
> Let's see. I guess things to note are that Adrien is eighteen, and Luka is twenty and a half. I didn't pick a specific time period, so some things might seem anachronistic.
> 
> Anyway. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> WARNING: So, I've been informed that this isn't a very authentic representation of gender fluidity, so please don't take this as an actual reference for what it's like to be gender fluid. Also, if you're actually gender fluid, you should probably give this one a skip.

There were glowing green eyes in the forest.

They watched Luka every day as he trekked from the village to his family’s cottage on the outskirts of town.

There were fair folk in the forest, said his mother. Most people didn’t believe in them anymore, but they were still there, much as they’d always been, minding their own business but always looking for ways to cause trouble for some poor soul.

The people of the village said that Anarka was mad…and yet, they still came to her for her potions and salves. They still sent for her when their babies were on the way, when they’d been bitten by snakes or had a rattling cough or wanted a charm to ward off misfortune.

Luka figured that, eccentric though she was, his mother had to know what she was talking about.

There were glowing green eyes in the forest.

They watched Luka as he made his way home from the village.

One day, Luka stopped and stared back.

The luminescent eyes blinked.

“Hello,” Luka called.

The eyes went wide and seemed to stumble back.

The enchanted woods were dark as night even in the noonday sun, so, now, at twilight, their blackness was impenetrable. Luka knew that there had to be a being attached to those eyes, but, whatever it was, he couldn’t see it through the veil of magic.

“H-Hello,” a nervous voice called back, soft and luscious like the fur stole Luka had once secretly touched at the village market.

Luka couldn’t tell if it was male or female. Then again, the fair folk had a penchant for being both or neither.

“How are you doing today?” Luka ventured.

The eyes seemed to squirm uncomfortably. “I-I’m well. Thank you. And you?”

Luka nodded. “Pretty well. I had a fairly successful day in town.”

“What do you do?” the fairy asked with interest. “Make music for people?”

Luka’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I always see you with your lute,” the fey clarified. “…Though, you don’t have it today.”

“Mostly, I’m a hired laborer,” Luka explained. “I do odd jobs, run deliveries, move heavy objects. When I’m not doing that, between jobs, I make music for people. I knew today was going to be busy with people preparing for the spring festival, so I left the lute at home.”

“Ah,” said the sprite. “That’s right. The Solstice is coming up.”

There was a beat, and then Luka began to make his excuses. “Well, it was nice talking to you, but I need to get home. Have a nice rest of your day.”

“Wait!” the fey cried, and Luka paused obligingly.

“…Uh…I…I don’t…I don’t know your name,” the fairy remarked shyly.

Luka almost answered, but then he remembered what his mother had taught him. “No…you don’t. From what I understand, it’s dangerous to give one of the fair folk power over you like that.”

The glowing green eyes went wide as the fairy gasped. “No! I didn’t—! I wasn’t trying to—! …I just… Sorry,” the spirit ended in a dejected whisper, the eyes dropping to gaze at the ground.

“You can call me Orpheus,” Luka offered, feeling slightly bad for the fey.

It could all be an elaborate ruse to trick Luka, but the fairy seemed in earnest, and Luka was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Suddenly, the being perked up. “Really? Thank you! I’m A—uh…Ariel. You can call me Ariel.”

Luka nodded, wondering if the fey had almost just given their real name. They must be very young and inexperienced to make such a grave mistake.

A name was a very powerful thing. If known, either Luka or the fairy could bend the other to their will, turn the other into a slave. It wasn’t something to toss about lightly.

“All right.” Luka nodded and turned to go. “Good night, Ariel.”

“Good night, Orpheus,” Adrien called after him.

Once Luka had disappeared over the hill, Adrien gave a great sigh, spinning around and sinking to the ground, leaning heavily against the tree behind them.

Their heart was pounding in their chest, and they felt dizzy.

The boy they’d been watching for weeks had seen them. The boy they’d been pining after had talked to them. And he was so nice, so handsome, so interesting.

Adrien needed to know more. They wouldn’t be able to calm down until they saw him again, talked to him again.

“H-Hello, Orpheus!” Adrien greeted, still stuttering a bit at first in their excitement, even though they and Luka had been doing this for two weeks now.

“Hi, Ariel,” Luka replied fondly with a smile that turned Adrien to goo.

“Will you play for me today?” Adrien begged, desperate to hear the melodies that echoed in their dreams once more from their beloved’s lute, in their beloved’s voice.

“Just one song,” Luka easily agreed, knowing he’d end up doing two or three at least when Adrien pleaded for an encore.

“I’ve brought you a present,” Luka announced at the end of their visit about a month into their conversations.

“O-Oh? A present?” Adrien sat up at attention. “Oh, Orpheus… That’s so sweet. You didn’t have to do that.”

Luka shrugged, leaving the path and walking through the grass towards the forest. He stopped halfway, still two meters off from the looming trees.

Did Luka expect Adrien to come out and meet him?! The thought sent ice through Adrien’s veins. They weren’t ready for Luka to see them. They hadn’t decided what shape to assume. They were wavering back and forth between beautiful maiden and handsome youth. If all else failed, they could always use their cat form, but…they wanted Luka to think that they were every bit as gorgeous as Luka was to Adrien.

They just didn’t have the confidence to show themselves yet.

“I…I’m sorry. I’m still a little shy,” Adrien stammered. “Could you…maybe leave it there, and I’ll come get it when you’re gone?”

Luka smiled a touch wistfully. “Sure. It’s okay. No worries.” He set the present down carefully on a low rock. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ariel.”

“Goodbye, and thank you, Orpheus,” Adrien replied earnestly, feeling a sour roiling in their gut, sensing that they’d done something wrong, disappointed Luka.

They watched Luka go, took a deep breath, and then exited the enchanted woods in cat form, making their way over to the rock where Luka had left the present.

It was a bracelet made of glass beads with small flowers preserved inside.

Adrien gasped.

They scooped up the bracelet in their mouth and darted back into the forest where they resumed their humanoid form and ran each bead through their fingers.

Tears streamed down their cheeks as emotion overwhelmed them, and they pressed the bracelet to their racing heart.

“Your father is going to be pissed,” Marinette snorted as she lounged on Adrien’s bed, watching upside down as her friend paced.

“Yeah, but it’ll be fine if we just stick to the story,” Adrien insisted, stopping in front of their mirror to check their hair for the dozenth time. “I’ve gone to stay with my mother’s people before.”

“Yeah, but what if he goes to check on you?” Marinette sighed, righting herself.

Adrien shrugged. “It’s one day’s travel to the other side of the mountain and one day back. You’ll have plenty of time to come warn me.”

Marinette pursed her lips. “But your cover will still be blown.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Adrien insisted. “I need to do this. I need to…” They let their arms drop helplessly to their sides.

Their fingers instinctively went to the glass beads that hadn’t left their wrist since they’d first been put there a week before. Adrien found comfort there.

Marinette shook her head, getting up and going to them, pulling them into her arms. “Oh, My Chaton, My Chatonne,” she sang. “I really hope this mortal is everything you think he is.”

“He is,” Adrien whispered. “I know he is.”

She squeezed them tighter. “And I hope he loves you too.”

Adrien tensed. “…At the very least, he looked so sad when I told him I’d be going away for a while. He said he’d miss me…or…talking with me, but… He does care.”

She nodded, pulling back to stroke their face affectionately.

Their eyes met, and she leaned in to press a firm kiss to their cheek.

It felt different from the gentle nuzzles and friendly kisses they normally shared.

“Marinette?” Adrien breathed in surprise.

She smiled softly, eyes full of pure love. “I just want you to be happy, Adrien. If he’s the one you want, I will move mountains to get him for you. …That’s all.”

“Thank you.” Adrien beamed back at her, leaning in to place a grateful kiss on her cheek. “You’re the best friend anyone could ask for. I’d be lost without you.”

She nodded, trying not to tear up, not to let her feelings show and get in Adrien’s way. “If things don’t work out…if he’s not the one for you after all, I’ll still be here when you get back. No matter what, okay?”

Adrien returned her nod. “Thank you.”

She took a deep breath. “Okay. Ready?”

“R-Ready,” Adrien assured, even as they began to tremble.

Marinette went over to the vanity and picked up the bag of medical supplies they had prepared beforehand, carefully situating the strap securely between her breasts and moving the bag so that it rested at her hip.

She snatched up the knife from the vanity table and turned to Adrien.

They held out their arm, already going pale.

Marinette took Adrien’s right hand in her left, squeezing it firmly, holding their arm still.

She cut them quickly yet carefully, prepared for the way they jerked away and yelped in pain before transforming into a cat.

Marinette ignored the silver blood on the knife on the floor on her and transformed into a peregrine falcon, carefully scoping Adrien up in her talons and carrying them out of the forest.

She saw the boy Adrien loved on his way home and thanked the stars that the plan was going well so far. She gently set Adrien down next to the front door of the mortal boy’s cottage and then made herself at home in a nearby tree, waiting to see what would happen, waiting in case Adrien needed her to rescue them.

Luka paused along the way and looked longingly at the enchanted forest.

Ariel had said that they’d be gone for some time, possibly several weeks, but Luka couldn’t help but search the forest for their jewel-like eyes.

It had only been two days since they’d last talked, but, to Luka, it felt like a week.

With a sigh, Luka trudged home, heart heavy.

A pitiful mew shook him from his thoughts as he started up the walk to his family’s home.

There, next to the door, was a small, black cat lying in a heap.

Luka set down his lute and cautiously approached. “Hey, little buddy,” he called softly, reaching out a hand to tentatively stroke Adrien’s back.

If Adrien hadn’t been in pain, they would have thoroughly enjoyed Luka’s touch.

Luka gasped. “You’re bleeding!” Carefully, he scooped Adrien up, cradling them to his chest.

“Hang in there,” Luka cajoled, standing slowly so as not to jostle Adrien too much. “My mom’s a healer. She’ll know what to do.”

Adrien began to purr as they listened to the sound of Luka’s heart, thinking that having Luka hold them like this was worth the pain.

Luka carried Adrien into the house, calling for his mother.

“She’s out back in the garden,” Juleka mumbled from where she sat at the kitchen table, watching Rose (their ward and Anarka’s apprentice) make dinner.

“Well, go get her,” Luka snapped uncharacteristically.

Juleka and Rose’s eyes went wide.

“Sorry,” Luka sheepishly added, carrying Adrien over to the kitchen counter by the sink. “I found an injured cat. Please go get Maman, Juliet.”

“On it,” Juleka affirmed, hustling towards the back door.

“Poor baby,” Rose cooed, wiping her hands on her apron and coming over to see.

“What do I do first?” Luka looked to his adopted sister in desperation.

“Stop the bleeding,” Rose advised, grabbing a clean towel from one of the drawers and handing it to Luka. “Then we can clean the wound and bandage it up. It actually doesn’t look like it’s bleeding too bad. Don’t worry, Luka.”

Luka nodded, trying to take deep breaths as he pressed the towel to Adrien’s cut.

Meanwhile, Adrien was over the moon.

 _Luka_.

The boy they loved was called Luka. It was such a pretty name, like a sigh or a breath.

 _Luka_.

Anarka and Juleka came rushing in two minutes later, and Rose stepped back out of the way.

“What do we have here?” Anarka hummed as she peeked over Luka’s shoulder.

“I found him out front,” Luka explained, stroking Adrien’s head with one hand while he kept applying pressure with the other. “He’s got a cut on his front paw.”

Anarka moved in closer. “Let’s see.”

Luka sidestepped so that he could keep petting Adrien while Anarka inspected the wound.

“It looks like it’s more or less stopped bleeding,” she observed. “It isn’t too deep, and it’s a pretty clean cut. I’d say someone did it with a knife.”

Luka gawked at his mother. “Are you saying someone did this to him on purpose?”

Anarka shrugged. “I wouldn’t rule it out.”

Juleka clicked her tongue. “Those village kids are demonic. In a _bad_ way.”

“Mmhm,” Rose agreed sadly, looping her arm through Juleka’s.

“We can go ahead and start cleaning the wound,” Anarka judged. “Luka, get a clean towel and put some soap and water on it to clean away the dried blood from…uh…” Anarka stopped and lifted Adrien’s leg.

Adrien flinched, shocked and disturbed to find themselves violated this way.

“… _her_ ,” Anarka discerned, “paw. Juleka, please take over making dinner so that Rose can prepare a poultice.” She smiled at Rose. “This will be good practice for you.”

Luka paled. “Practice?”

Rose patted Luka on the shoulder as she broke away from Juleka and went to the workstation just off the kitchen. “Don’t worry, Lulu. I know what I’m doing. I’m not going to hurt her,” she assured.

Luka frowned, gingerly lifting Adrien’s hind leg again with a whispered, “Excuse me.”

Adrien wanted to die. This was not how they’d imagined Luka first seeing them naked.

The trenches in Luka’s forehead deepened. “Maman, I’m pretty sure this is a male cat.”

Anarka quirked an eyebrow and looked at Adrien again. “Honey,” she said kindly, resting a hand on Luka’s shoulder, “I know you don’t have any experience with other people’s genitals, but I deliver babies, so trust me on this one. Your cat is female.”

Luka’s entire face went red.

Adrien could sympathize, as they were currently mortified themselves.

If they weren’t used to this kind of invasive, probing treatment at home, they would probably find this manhandling and gender questioning traumatic.

“I don’t know,” Juleka spoke up, coming in to take a closer look. “That looks like a boy cat to me.”

“Really?” Rose came back over to gawk at Adrien’s equipment too.

Adrien could not believe that their future in-laws were taking the time to debate their gender identity while Adrien had a wound that needed bandaging. They really wanted to snap, “I’m gender fluid! You’re seeing me as whichever sex you want due to my glamour, but my pronouns are they/them, so stop trying to fit me into your stupid mortal boxes already!”…but that outburst would alert them to the fact that Adrien was not, in actuality, a cat, and Adrien hadn’t come all this way to out themselves now.

Rose looked at the Couffaine siblings and shook her head. “Guys, she’s definitely a girl.”

Luka lowered Adrien’s leg with a discontent grumble. “I’m going to clean _their_ wound now because their sex has absolutely nothing to do with their health at the moment.”

Adrien wanted to cry. Instead, they let out a happy mew.

They loved Luka so much in that moment.

And then Luka gave Adrien a little scratch behind their ear, and Adrien loved him more.

The Couffaine family worked together to patch Adrien up, and then they sat down to dinner with Adrien in Luka’s lap.

Adrien was really glad they were in cat form so that no one could see them blushing from ears to tail. Because they were _sitting_ on Luka’s _lap_.

“What do you think they eat?” Luka inquired of his family, trying to feed Adrien another piece of peasant.

Adrien turned their head away, horrified.

_“I’m a vegetarian.”_

“Cats are obligate carnivores,” Rose reported. “They should eat the meat.”

“I don’t think my cat likes meat,” Luka sighed, putting the peasant into his own mouth and spearing a piece of carrot with the tines of his fork for Adrien.

Adrien eagerly gulped down the vegetable.

“Hm,” Juleka chuckled. “I don’t think anyone told them that they were an obligate carnivore.”

Luka tried a pea next, and Adrien ate that as well. “Hn. Okay.”

Next was a piece of squash followed by a red pepper slice. Then, Luka tried the peasant again.

Adrien turned their head away.

“It might just be the peasant that they don’t like, but maybe my cat is a vegetarian,” Luka hypothesized.

Adrien let out a happy chirp.

_“You know me so well.”_

The family all laughed at that.

“See if she’ll eat some of the berries we’re having for dessert and give her a saucer of milk for protein,” Anarka suggested.

“ _They_ ,” Luka corrected, patiently yet firmly. “My cat is a ‘they’.”

Anarka nodded, conceding. “See if _they_ will eat some berries, and then give _them_ a dish of milk.”

Luka smiled, pleased. “Thank you.”

Adrien mewed, rubbing the side of their face affectionately against Luka’s chest.

_“I love you.”_

Adrien got another scratch behind their ears for that.

That night, Luka took Adrien to his attic room and made up a bed for them out of some balled up clothes and one of the wicker baskets the Couffaines used when they went to market. Luka placed the basket on the floor next to his own bed and carefully set Adrien in it.

“There you go,” he whispered, giving Adrien’s head a gentle stroke.

Adrien purred their thanks, gazing up at Luka in love.

Luka stared back in surprise. “Your eyes,” he whispered, awed. “They…They remind me of a friend’s.”

Adrien’s heart leapt.

A friend. Luka had accepted Adrien as a friend.

Luka smiled, giving Adrien another pat. “You have gorgeous eyes,” he chuckled, getting up and starting to undress for bed.

Figuring that fair was fair, Adrien watched.

Luka had seen _them_ naked.

But Adrien hadn’t anticipated being so overwhelmed by Luka’s beauty. They wished they could run their hands over Luka’s chest, feel the muscles of Luka’s arms, skim their fingers down Luka’s back.

Adrien took a deep breath when they realized they’d been holding it for too long.

Luka started to remove his trousers, and Adrien had to look away or risk having a heart attack.

The next day, Adrien stubbornly accompanied Luka to the village.

Luka tried to take Adrien back into the house, insisting that they had to rest their paw, but Adrien wasn’t having it. They yowled and carried on until Luka sighed, scooped them up into his arms, and carried them with him into town.

 _“My hero,”_ Adrien sighed contentedly to themselves.

Overhead, Marinette followed them in falcon form, keeping a watchful eye.

On the way home that evening, Luka stopped at the bend in the road from which he usually conversed with Adrien. He stared into the woods as if searching for something.

Adrien looked too but couldn’t discern what had caught Luka’s attention.

After a minute, Luka resumed his journey, taking them home.

After about a week, Adrien decided to make a bold move.

They waited until Luka was situated in bed, and then they exited their cat basket, making the leap up next to Luka.

“What up, Chat Noir?” he whispered, slightly moist lips shining in the moonlight.

Why was Luka always so gorgeous?

Adrien mewed bashfully, suddenly losing their nerve.

_“May I…That is to say…I mean…I was just wondering…”_

“Do you want to sleep up here with me?” Luka asked, always knowing exactly what was on Adrien’s mind.

Adrien replied with a meek meow.

_“If you don’t mind.”_

“Come here,” Luka cooed, carefully picking Adrien up and arranging them beside him in the crook of his arm, Adrien’s head on Luka’s chest.

Adrien sighed in bliss.

_“I can’t tell you how often I’ve dreamed of lying with you like this, Luka.”_

Luka leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of Adrien’s head.

“Night, night, Chat Noir. Sleep tight.”

Adrien melted, wishing they could stay in this perfect little bubble with Luka forever.

Adrien found the daisy chain during week two.

It was in a carved mahogany box that Luka kept on his desk, his box of special things.

Adrien had seen him go into the box several times after the rest of the household had gone to bed to look at the trinkets and pictures stored within. It seemed like a private ritual, and Adrien knew that they were already betraying Luka’s trust by impersonating a housecat in order to get closer to him, so they tried not to pry whenever Luka went through the box of special things.

That was, until Luka left the lid off one night when he went to get a book out of his trunk, and Adrien hopped up onto the desk to bat at a fly who had dared to intrude in Luka’s little attic room.

Adrien saw the daisy chain and froze, forgetting the fly. They went over to the box of special things and carefully fished out the string of daisies with one paw.

“Chat Noir!” Luka gasped, seeing what Adrien was doing. He rushed over to the desk and gently took the flowers away, inspecting the gift for damage. Finding the chain unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Adrien mewed interrogatively.

_“You still have that?”_

“Sorry,” Luka laughed a touch giddily, reaching out to stroke Adrien from the crown of their head to the base of their tail. “This is very important to me.” He pressed the daisy chain to his heart. “A very, very important friend gave this to me. My fey friend,” Luka explained. “The one we stop at the bend in the road and look for every day.”

Adrien’s eyes went wide.

_“You’re looking for me?”_

“They’re on a journey right now to visit their mother’s family, but they’ll be back soon,” Luka sighed, bringing the daisies up to his lips. “Until then, this is the only thing I have of theirs, the only thing they’ve touched.”

Adrien had made the daisy chain in return for the glass bead bracelet Luka had given them and that Adrien treasured. They’d left the chain of daisies on the rock right before Luka had passed by on his way home the day that Adrien had told Luka that they were going on a journey and wouldn’t be around for a while.

“It’s very important to me,” Luka repeated, gently setting the daisies back in the box of special things with an unreadable smile.

“That cat is in love with you,” Juleka snickered as she passed through the living room on her way to help Rose in the kitchen.

Luka, who had been lying on the couch reading a book with Adrien stretched out on top of him, raised his head to glare at his sister. “Leave my cat alone.”

Adrien gave an indignant “mrow”.

 _“I don’t make a big deal of_ you _being in love with Rose, Jules. I don’t see why you have to call_ me _out. See if I deliver your little gifts back and forth anymore. Find yourself another cupid.”_

“Chat Noir, you’re sounding a little defensive,” Rose chuckled.

 _“Et tu, Rose?”_ Adrien snorted.

Luka closed his book, setting it aside to free up his hands to pet Adrien, making them purr in contentment. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “I adore you.”

Adrien melted (a common occurrence).

_“And I you, My Love.”_

“That cat isn’t a cat,” Anarka scoffed.

Everyone froze, and the lighthearted air was sucked out of the room.

“That is one of the fair folk,” Anarka pronounced.

Luka slowly sat up, hugging Adrien to his chest protectively. “So what?” he challenged.

Adrien loved him all the more for it.

“Chat Noir has been with us for three weeks now, and they haven’t done anything wrong,” Luka argued defiantly.

“Honestly,” Rose piped up, “they’ve been a big help around the house. They’re very polite and friendly, and all they’ve taken from us is food and shelter.”

Adrien’s heart swelled as even Rose defended them.

“What’s the big deal if a fey wants to pretend to be our cat?” Juleka added, putting herself back in Adrien’s good graces. “Aren’t witches supposed to have familiars anyway, Maman?”

“I am not a witch,” Anarka grumbled. “And don’t come crying to me when that thing sneaks into your room one night.”

Adrien let out an indignant hiss.

_“I would never!”_

Juleka rolled her eyes. “I don’t think Chat Noir is interested in either of us, Maman. _Luka_ is the one you have to worry about fathering kittens.”

Adrien wilted, feeling suddenly ostracized.

Anarka was obviously against Adrien for being fey, and Juleka treated the idea of a union between Luka and Adrien like a joke.

Adrien was just about to struggle to break away from Luka and run off when Luka stood, glaring at his family members.

“Chat Noir and I are going to our room,” he announced tersely, pressing Adrien to him a little more closely.

“Don’t mind them,” he whispered for Adrien’s ears only.

“We should be nicer to Chat Noir,” Adrien heard Rose say as Luka started up the stairs with them. “They’ve really done a lot to brighten Luka’s mood these past few weeks that he hasn’t seen that person in town he’s in love with.”

Perhaps Adrien misheard or misunderstood, but their heart sank anyway.

Luka in love? With someone from the village?

Adrien slumped in despair.

What hope did _they_ have when Luka’s affections lay with another mortal whom Luka’s family would accept as his mate?

Luka carried Adrien up to the attic and carefully settled down on the bed, cuddling with Adrien, rubbing his face against theirs, soft, reassuring nuzzles and light kisses.

“Don’t listen to them,” Luka whispered. “It’s going to be okay.”

Adrien wanted to believe that.

“Good job,” Luka growled at breakfast the next morning. “I hope you’re happy. You’ve all managed to depress my cat. They’re not eating.”

Rose frowned, grabbing a strawberry from the bowl on the table and holding it out to Adrien. “Come on, Duckie,” she cooed. “You love strawberries fresh from the garden.”

Adrien meowed lethargically.

_“Not when the man I love is incapable of returning my feelings.”_

“Whoa,” Juleka remarked. “That is a major funk right there. I can see the black clouds coming off of them.” She spooned up some of her oatmeal and held it out to Adrien. “Want some? It’s good.”

 _“Nothing is good,”_ Adrien replied listlessly.

Juleka looked up at Luka. “Bro, your cat is depressed. I think you need to get them in to see someone.”

“I know, right?” Luka sighed, ready to pull his hair out. He bounced Adrien gently like a baby as he begged, “Please eat something, Chat Noir.”

 _“There’s no point,”_ Adrien mewed quietly.

Luka turned his nervous energy on his mother, glowering at her for all he was worth. “This is because you were a xenophobic jerk to them yesterday. You should apologize.”

Anarka took a shallow breath and blew it out quickly. “…Chat Noir…I’m sorry I was unfair to you.” She actually sounded in earnest, and Adrien almost believed her. “The children are right; you haven’t done anything wrong, and you’ve actually been a very good houseguest….” Her forehead creased as she continued with a little trouble. “I was raised not to trust your people…but maybe I was a little hasty in judging _you_. If you want to pretend to be a cat, I have no problem with that, so long as you do my family no harm.”

 _“Thanks,”_ Adrien responded wearily, appreciating the effort she was putting in, even if she was still prejudiced on the inside.

“Thank you, Maman,” Luka added, lifting Adrien up to face-level. “Hey, you.”

 _“Hey,”_ Adrien replied in a tired mumble.

“Please eat something?” he coaxed. “For me?”

Adrien sighed, opening his mouth.

_“All right. For you.”_

Luka fed Adrien three strawberries, and then they refused to eat any more than that. Their stomach felt queasy, like they were going to be sick.

“Maybe you should stay at home today, if you’re not feeling well,” Luka suggested as he got ready to go to town.

Adrien let out a hiss of protest.

_“No! I can’t stand to be inside right now! I want to go with you. I mean, what if you run into that person from the village you’re in love with?”_

Luka pursed his lips but scooped them up anyway, despite his reservations. “All right,” he whispered, holding Adrien close and giving their head a kiss. “Sorry again about my mom. She lost an uncle because of a fey, so she’s a little biased against your people.”

Adrien rubbed his face against Luka’s chest affectionately.

_“I’m so glad that you’re not.”_

On the way home that evening, they stopped at the bend in the road, and Luka searched the forest for a familiar set of glowing green eyes.

He got out his lute and played a few of the songs Adrien requested most often, and it made Adrien smile.

 _“Thank you for playing for me, even though you think I’m not there,”_ they mewed in gratitude.

It meant so much to them that Luka cared for them, that Luka cherished them as an important friend…even if his heart lay with someone else.

After three songs, Luka sighed dejectedly. He slung the lute over his shoulder to rest at his back and picked Adrien up, moving through the grass towards the forest. He stopped halfway between the path and the trees and sat down on the rock they’d used to exchange their gifts.

Luka let out another disconsolate sigh as Marinette flew overhead, into the forest.

She landed on one of the trees on the fringe, and her blue eyes glowed out at them.

“Sorry,” Luka whispered, scratching behind Adrien’s ear. “I have to be honest with you. You’re really precious to me, and I _am_ fond of you. I’ve been really grateful for your companionship these past few weeks. It’s not a stretch to say that I would have been completely miserable without you, so…thank you. For your friendship, your affection. It’s meant a great deal to me.”

 _“This sounds like the leadup to a rejection_ ,” Adrien meowed warily, tensing even as Luka continued to pet them.

Luka took a deep breath. “I’ve mentioned before that I have a fey friend.”

Adrien’s tail wagged anxiously. They couldn’t follow where Luka was going with this conversation.

“Ariel…or…that’s what they said that I could call them. I know that’s not their real name, so, if you know them, that’s probably not what they’re called, but…” He sighed, running one hand through his own hair while the other kept stroking Adrien. “I don’t know if they’re male or female or both or neither or whatever. I don’t know what they look like. We’ve only spoken from a distance, but they have this beautiful, unforgettable voice and these green eyes that just…wow. Seriously. _Wow_.” Luka chuckled, sheepishly admitting, “…Your eyes kind of remind me of theirs. Your eyes are really pretty…really comforting to gaze into.”

Under their fur, Adrien was blushing.

_“Charmer. I could go on about your eyes too, you know.”_

“You know…” Luka bit his lip. “There have been times when I’ve wondered…if maybe _you_ …were Ariel.” He snuck a quick glance at Adrien.

Adrien gasped.

Luka looked away. “I’m sorry. Wishful thinking. It’s not fair to you, I know. I’m sorry, Chat Noir. I know you’re fond of me, and I’m fond of you too, but…before you came, I had been talking with Ariel for…a month or two? And we just clicked, and…I can’t forget about them.”

He forced himself to meet Adrien’s eyes once more as he confessed, “I’m in love with Ariel.”

Adrien couldn’t remember how to breathe. All of their dreams had come true at once, and they didn’t know what to do with so much happiness.

They had to tell Luka the truth. They had to tell Luka who they were, how they felt.

But not like this. Not as a cat. Adrien need to show Luka their true form.

They were finally brave enough to do it.

Adrien broke away from Luka, running for the forest.

“Chat Noir!” Luka called after them. “Chat Noir, come back!”

He gave chase, fearing that he’d hurt his friend with the confession of love for another, fearing he’d lose Chat Noir forever.

“I’m sorry!” he shouted, not hesitating to follow as Adrien ran into the forest, despite Anarka’s warnings of what the fey did to people who wondered into their woods. “Please come back!”

Luka looked around desperately, searching for any sign of his cat. He was dismayed to find that, not only was there no cat in sight, but that he could no longer tell from which direction he’d come.

Just as one could not see into the enchanted forest from the outside, it was also impossible to see out now that Luka was in it.

Luka gazed helplessly at the strange plants and exotic flowers that surrounded him, glowing like neon in vibrant shades that Luka couldn’t name.

From the outside, the forest looked pitch black, but, on the inside, it was luminosity itself, glimmering like a big city lit by the flora and the fireflies.

“Chat Noir!” Luka tried again even as his chest began to fill with dread.

“Here,” a familiar voice called back, off to Luka’s left. “Over here.”

Cautiously, Luka approached and found himself stepping out into a clearing where a beautiful blonde young man stood by a pond, leaning up against a large rock.

“Chat…Noir?” Luka inquired hesitantly.

Adrien smiled, green eyes glowing with joy. “That’s one of the names you know me by.”

Luka’s jaw dropped as he stumbled forward. “Ariel?” he whispered, not daring to believe it.

Adrien nodded, striding forward to meet Luka, taking his hands in theirs. “Actually, my name is Adrien. It’s good to finally officially meet you, Luka.”

“Wow,” Luka breathed, taking in the inhuman beauty of the person he loved for the first time. “Wow. You’re…I…I mean, I knew you’d be gorgeous just going by your eyes and voice, but…”

Adrien giggled euphorically. “You really think so? Gosh, I’ve been so worried this whole time about what you’d think of me because…well…I mean…Luka, you’ve got to know how attractive you are.”

“Me?” Luka scoffed. “Clearly you haven’t seen many people. I’m…I’m awkward and—”

“—Perfect,” Adrien interrupted. “You’re so perfect, Luka. So, I was really scared to show myself to you. I wasn’t sure what you thought of as attractive, and I know human beings don’t…well… _glow_ like I do, for starters, so…”

“Adrien, you’re ethereally beautiful,” Luka insisted. “Besides, physical beauty isn’t even what matters to me.”

Adrien blinked. “It isn’t?”

Luka shook his head. “I fell for you without ever seeing your face. I fell in love with you as a person from the things that you said, the way you spoke to me, the way I connected with you. Our bond…none of the truly important things about it had anything to do with what you looked like. I didn’t even know if you were male or female, but that didn’t matter because I loved _you_. Heck, you had me crushing on you as a cat. Clearly, physical attraction has very little to do with my feelings for you.”

Adrien kind of missed their fur. Without it, Luka could tell plainly how badly Adrien was blushing. “When exactly did you start to realize I wasn’t just a cat?” they wondered bashfully.

Luka gave a snort and squeezed Adrien’s hands. “Day three when Rose asked me to get her a towel but you beat me to it. That was when I knew for sure. You were a weird cat the whole time, so I always thought something was off with you, but when you brought Rose that towel, I realized, ‘Whoops. I brought a fairy into the house. Maman’s gonna be pissed’.”

Adrien burst out into a bell-like laugh at that. “And yet you let me stay…pet me, fed me, nuzzled me…let me sleep in your bed?”

Luka shrugged. “Hey, if you wanted to be a cat, I was okay with that. I…I was a wreck on the inside from missing Ariel, so…a fey cat companion was welcome.”

Adrien’s face fell. “Come sit with me. We need to talk.”

Luka nodded, letting Adrien lead him over to the bank of the pond.

They sat down on the moss there.

“So,” Adrien sighed. “I owe you an apology for tricking you into inviting me into your home.”

Luka shook his head, lacing his fingers through Adrien’s. “No harm done. Though, I wish I had known it was you.”

“I was madly in love with you,” Adrien tried to explain. “But I didn’t know how you felt, if you were even capable of loving a fey. I wanted to get to know you better, but I was afraid, so…it seemed like a good idea at the time to use my cat form to weasel my way into your life.”

Luka nodded. “Yeah. I can follow that logic. Juleka is probably going to be annoyed with us that it took so much trouble to get us together. She’s going to roll her eyes and rhetorically ask why men have such a hard time just talking about their feelings with each other.”

Adrien stiffened slightly.

“Rose is going to be thrilled,” Luka continued, missing Adrien’s reaction. “She’s going to think it’s all romantic. Maman is going to be livid, though. As you can probably tell, she’s not a fan of the fair folk, so she’s not going to be happy when I bring home a fey boyfriend.”

Adrien sucked in a deep breath. “Question.”

“Hm?” Luka tipped his head, studying Adrien’s face.

Adrien peeked up nervously. “Do you…only like men?”

Luka shook his head. “I don’t actually have a preference.”

Adrien blew out the breath, feeling a little better. “Okay. Good.”

“Why?” Luka asked in concern, reaching out to stroke Adrien’s cheek with a finger.

Adrien smiled shyly. “I’m not actually male. Not all the time. I decided to appear to you in my male form today because you saw me as a male cat due to my glamour showing you what you wanted to see, so…I _guessed_ that you’d prefer me as a male, but…I’m gender fluid.”

Luka’s eyes narrowed slightly in concentration as he attempted to take this information in. “Okay. So…what exactly does that mean? Sometimes you’re…female?”

Adrien nodded. “It depends on the day, the time. It can be different from one hour to the next. Sometimes I’m female for days at a time. Sometimes it changes a couple times within the same day. It just depends on how I feel.”

“So…it’s not a conscious decision?” Luka verified, trying to understand, scared of saying the wrong thing.

Adrien shook their head. “No. I don’t control it. It just is what it is…and it’s not an all or nothing thing either. It’s not a switch that flips and I’m suddenly one hundred percent boy or one hundred percent girl. It’s more like a sliding scale. Sometimes I’m fifty-fifty. Sometimes I’m slightly more girl than boy or boy than girl. It just…is…and I roll with it…. Is this weird for you?” They snuck a peek at Luka, holding their breath again.

“Not weird, no,” Luka confirmed. “It’s different, and I’m not sure if I really understand exactly, but…I’m willing to roll with it too…if you’ll be patient with me and forgive me when I ask dumb, insensitive questions.”

Adrien nodded, breathing naturally again as a smile spread across their lips. “Okay,” they agreed. “So…do you have any dumb, insensitive questions you’d like to get off your chest?”

Luka sighed in relief. “So…you said you weren’t male, not all the time anyway, but…when you _are_ male, are you a he/him, or…?”

“My pronouns are they and them,” Adrien informed patiently. “You’ve been doing it right this whole time while I was a cat, so just keep it up.”

“So, you’re not…my _boy_ friend, are you?” Luka worked his way down the list of questions rapidly formulating in his mind.

Adrien shook their head. “Maybe try ‘lover’ or ‘significant other’…eventually ‘spouse’?”

Luka squeezed Adrien’s hand, leaning in to give their hair a nuzzle. “Yes. Definitely yes.”

“Good,” Adrien sighed. “Because I’m crazy about you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Luka assured, giving the side of Adrien’s head a kiss. “…Another dumb, insensitive question?”

“Shoot,” Adrien encouraged.

“You said you decided to show yourself to me in your male form…does that mean you also have a female form?” Luka ventured.

Adrien grinned, and their body began to shimmer softly. Suddenly, their hair was longer, halfway down their back, and the angles of their features rounded out just a little more. Adrien’s male form had been fairly androgynous to start with, slight and lean, so the only discernible differences were the hair length and the subtle rounding out of Adrien’s chest.

“Thoughts?” Adrien solicited nervously.

“You’re still ‘wow’,” Luka informed, mentally kicking himself for his inability to be smooth.

“Good,” they giggled. “You don’t prefer one or the other?”

Luka shook his head. “I love both—or rather _all_ of you. Cat form too. You make a very attractive cat, Adrien.”

“Stop,” they giggled, lightly smacking Luka’s arm.

As Adrien pulled their hand back, Luka caught their wrist and stared. “The bracelet I gave you…you’re wearing it.”

Adrien looked down at the little flowers encased in glass beads and then up at Luka. “Luka, this is my prized possession…kind of like the objects in your box of special things. I’ve never taken it off.”

“Oh,” Luka breathed, reaching out to stroke their cheek again.

“Yeah,” Adrien whispered, leaning in.

Their lips met tentatively at first, but Adrien quickly took the initiative, deepening the kiss.

Fifteen minutes later found them rolling around on the bank of the pond, exploring, experimenting, having a whole conversation with silent lips and hands.

Adrien slowly pulled back, their hair falling like a curtain around Luka’s face. “Hi,” they giggled.

“Hi,” he breathed. “Please tell me this isn’t just a dream.”

“This is really happening,” they whispered, reassuring themselves as much as him.

“I love you,” Luka laughed, still feeling lightheaded from Adrien’s kiss.

“I love you too,” Adrien purred.

They leaned in for another kiss, but then Adrien’s stomach gurgled, breaking the moment.

“You hungry?” Luka asked in concern, hands going up to stroke Adrien’s face. “You didn’t eat much today.”

They blushed, averting their eyes. “No, because I was too busy being heartsick over you supposedly being in love with someone from the village.”

Luka arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “What’s all this about?”

Adrien rolled their eyes. “Last night when everyone was giving me trouble, as you were carrying me upstairs, Rose said something about me helping you not be miserable over the person from the village you were in love with but hadn’t seen in a few weeks.”

Luka couldn’t contain a laugh. “Is that why you were moping? You were jealous of yourself?”

“Well, I didn’t know that I was the one you were in love with, Orpheus,” Adrien snorted petulantly. “If I had, I would have transformed back and proposed marriage on the spot.”

“And I would have swooned at your feet,” Luka snickered, raising his head to press a gentle kiss to Adrien’s nose. “Come on. Let’s go home. They’ll be wondering what’s keeping us.”

Adrien rolled off of Luka, giving him an odd look. “Should I turn back into my cat form?”

Luka shook his head, getting to his feet before offering Adrien a hand up. “Come as you are. I want to formally introduce my family to my significant other. Then, after dinner, I want to snuggle on the couch with you like this. Snuggling with cat-you is nice, but…I’d like to try it this way too.”

Adrien laughed, shaking their head. “You don’t think your mother will throw me out?”

He squeezed their hand reassuringly. “If she does, we’ll just have to go see your parents. Do you think they’ll like me?”

Adrien grimaced. “Father? No. Father’s going to throw a fit. I’ll need Marinette’s help introducing you to Father. Marinette is my best friend,” they added as an aside. “Mother would probably like you. She’s a [kitsune](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune), a fox spirit. Her kind often seduce mortal men and breed with them, so I don’t think my mother’s side will care.”

“Another dumb, insensitive question?” Luka asked as Adrien began to lead him by the hand out of the enchanted forest.

“Sure.”

“What kind of fey are you?” Luka winced. “Sorry. Are you a [cat sidhe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_s%C3%ACth) maybe or…?”

“That’s right,” Adrien easily confirmed.

“Do they…really steal the souls of the dead?” Luka wondered, morbidly curious.

Adrien shrugged as they reached the tree line and stepped out into the light of the setting sun. “Some do.”

Everything was so much darker outside the glow of the neon woods.

Luka bit his lip. “What do they do with the souls they steal?”

“Meh. Interior decorating mostly. My father turns them into garments, though. He’s a fashion designer. Human souls make really soft, lovely material.”

Luka surreptitiously looked down at Adrien’s fine clothing.

They burst into an amused laugh. “No, my clothes are not made from human souls. I’m a vegetarian, and I only consume cruelty-free products.”

Luka nodded. “Okay. Good.”

“…But…what if your mother really doesn’t want me to stay?” Adrien fretted, beginning to get nervous as they approached the house.

Luka gave their hand another squeeze. “It’ll be fine. We’ll just be honest with her, tell her that either you stay with us, or I go back to the enchanted forest with you to face your father who turns the souls of the dead into next season’s latest fashion craze.”

“You’re counting on her folding and agreeing to tolerate me because she loves you,” Adrien realized.

“Yep…. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry,” Luka insisted. “She knows Juleka and Rose mess around, and she doesn’t say anything about it. She might just insist that you sleep in male or cat form. I think her main concern would be us getting pregnant.”

Luka paused, actually stopping to turn and look at Adrien. “Dumb, insensitive question.”

Adrien quirked an eyebrow.

“In your female form…can you…? Do you…?” His face twisted up as he tried to ask the question without coming out and asking the question. “I’m sorry. That’s incredibly rude and inappropriate of me,” he eventually realized. “Pretend I didn’t say anything.”

He turned and made to go, but Adrien, still holding his hand, didn’t budge.

“Wait,” they called softly.

Luka gave them an interrogative look.

“It _is_ incredibly rude and inappropriate,” Adrien confirmed, “and absolutely no one’s business but mine, so I’m glad you realized you were in the wrong.”

Luka breathed a little sigh of relief.

“Now, since you’re my fiancé, and you were asking for family planning purposes and not just morbid curiosity, I feel comfortable telling you that we can have children together if and when we both want that,” Adrien informed, and Luka’s face lit up.

“I would like that a lot,” Luka confessed, adding, “when the time comes.”

Adrien nodded. “Yeah. Me too…but if your mother asks, I’m telling her flat-out to buzz off.”

“Right,” Luka agreed, starting to walk again. “Of course.”

A dreadful thought occurred to him. “Adrien? I’m really sorry in advance if my family…you know…doesn’t always say the right thing. I’m not sure any of them knows what ‘gender fluid’ means, so…I’m sure they’ll all do their best, but…please tell us if we do something wrong or say something that hurts you. Not just about the gender fluid thing either. The fey thing too. Anything we do or say that bothers you. Please talk to us.”

They came to a stop in front of the house, and Adrien took a deep breath. “Luka? Do you love me?”

“Absolutely,” Luka answered with certainty. “As long as I live.”

“Okay,” Adrien replied with a nervous chuckle. “Okay. Then…we’ll make this work.”

Luka pulled Adrien to him, and they shared one last kiss before they had to face their first hurdle as a couple.

“Ready?” Luka breathed stepping back.

“Ready,” Adrien confirmed breathlessly.

Luka held Adrien’s hand firmly with one of his own, using the other to open the door.

“Hey everybody,” he called into the house. “Come meet Adrien. This is the person I’m going to marry.”

The

End

**Author's Note:**

> And there you have it. What did you think? I hope you enjoyed the story. ^.^ Did you have a favourite scene or part or line? I think I'm most amused by Gabriel turning the souls he captures into clothes and Luka's reaction to that fact. I always wonder what mythical creatures do with souls they capture. Eat them? :/ I also like the description of the neon lighting of the enchanted forest and the small flowers in the glass beads of the bracelet Luka gives Adrien. (As the author, am I allowed to have favourite parts? ^.^;)
> 
> Anyway. Some notes: “My Chaton, My Chatonne” – So, I got to this part, and I was going to have Marinette call Adrien “Chaton”, but then I thought, “Wait. That’s the male version. How do I do this gender neutral? Can you do that in French? I guess I could use the English ‘Kitten’, but…hmmm”. So I decided to use both the male and female versions back-to-back because Adrien is both, so that made the most sense. Also, for picking the pairing (F/M or M/M), I chose both because Adrien can be both depending, so that made sense to me.
> 
> In other news, I don’t think peregrine falcons, /normal/ peregrine falcons, would be able to carry a cat like I describe Marinette carrying Adrien here (Sorry. I know more about goshawks than peregrine falcons, but the internet says they eat small mammals up to about two pounds, so…), but Marinette is magic, so she manages carrying Adrien in cat form just fine.
> 
> Well, that's it from me. I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you very much for taking the time to read it. Have a nice day!  
> References:  
> Kitsune: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitsune  
> Cat Sidhe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cat_s%C3%ACth


End file.
